EU leaders have pledged to hit back if US President Donald Trump follows through on repeated threats to slap tariffs on European Union goods, saying that China would be the big winner from a transatlantic trade war.
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Trump said on Sunday that tariffs would “definitely happen with the European Union, I can tell you that”, adding that “I wouldn’t say there’s a timeline but it’s going to be pretty soon”.
The threat came just a day after he signed executive orders for 25 per cent tariffs on goods from neighbours Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional tariff of 10 per cent on imports from China.
Arriving at a summit to discuss European defence in Brussels on Monday, national leaders were inundated with questions on how the European Union would respond, with many vowing to punch back.
“It always would be good, both for the US and for Europe, if we cooperate … but what is clear is the basis for talking is knowing one’s own strength: Europe can act,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
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French President Emmanuel Macron said that if Europe was “attacked on trade issues”, then “as a power that stands up for itself, will have to make itself respected and therefore react”.